What I like most about Tokyo is that it is an endless city. I have been walking the streets of this city for 16 years and I still find myself lost all the time. The feeling of knowing that I can still get lost is what is thrilling to me.

Tokyo is an amalgamation of houses and skyscrapers, at the same time a huge city and many villages crowded together. When I visit a new place that I still don’t know, I like to explore the area, get lost in the alleys and discover the culture and atmosphere of the neighborhood.

Although the title of the post is “Random Walk”, these are actually photos of many of my random walks. All the photos are from 2018 and 2019. Some of them were uploaded to my instagram account @geekinjapan but most stayed inside my smartphone.

The Bunkyo-ku neighborhood has many old houses and plants that almost almost invade the sidewalks. Notice that the car hardly fits the garage of the house..

At the entrance to the Nezu subway station (Chiyoda Line) they have an old train “wagon” restored as a bookstore where you can leave books you no longer want for other people to read.

After five weeks in self-isolation, I feel sad because of what is happening in the world. Today we had 0 new cases in Tokyo and I went out for a long walk for the first time in more than one month. The good news is that somehow Japan has been able to dodge the BIG bullet, at least as of today, the worst might be still coming…

Japan was the second country in which a case of coronavirus was detected in January. But now, two months later, while other countries are in full lockdown like for example Spain (My family there is having a bad time), where I’m from, here in Japan most things are normal except for seeing fewer people outdoors, no tourism and some businesses like gyms closed.

I’m not sure about the reason why the coronavirus is growing slower in Japan.
But this is a list of things that might have helped.

1) Japan felt the panic early and acted with prudence from day one as a team
I’ve seen this before when Fukushima happened in 2011, the Japanese are used to earthquakes, tsunamis, natural disasters… They feel the panic early and act with maximum prudence from the beginning. Furthermore, there is an increased sense of solidarity and people helping each other, which is known as kizuna spirit.

Notice the difference:

FEELING the panic VS ACTING with panic.

The Japanese feel the panic and the fear early, but act without panic, they help each other and prepare for the worst.

2) Wearing masks from day one

I can’t say that all Japanese are wearing masks, but I would say that over 80% and in some cases even more, of the people outdoors in Tokyo have been wearing masks since the end of January. They do wear masks even without a pandemic risk.

I believe this is one of the most important factors in the reduced rate of contagiousness of coronavirus in Japan.

3) Restrictions
– Japan is restricting travel.
– Schools closed.
– Gyms and sports facilities closed.
– Events were canceled early on.
– Most companies are stoping business trips, “all hands” meetings, parties and gatherings.
– Many people are self-isolating (But it is not enforced by the Government as of today).

4) Social factors
– In Japan we don’t shake hands, we bow to each other.
– Usually they are not touchy in social events. It is difficult to see people hugging or kissing.
– Japanese kids are taught to clean their hands and gargle early in their lives.

5) Hand sanitizers

There are hand sanitizers already installed at the entrance of almost any shop, office or building in Japan. I’ve seen these since I arrived in Japan in 2004, and I always wondered why are they so scared of viruses to have alcohol-based hand sanitizers everywhere?

They were already preparing for the worst since decades ago.

Prepare and act as early as you can.

Be safe wherever you are and I wish health and happiness to you and your family and friends.

This weekend I visited the new panoramic observatory at Shibuya. It is 230 meters tall and it is called Shibuya Scramble Square. The skyscraper has a shopping are from floor 1F until 14F, it also has an office area where the new Google Japan offices are located, visited the rooftop. The 45F and 46F are open to visitors, it is a beautiful observatory called Shibuya SKY and it is open every day from 9AM until 11PM for ¥2.000, google maps pinpoint).

I took these pictures this Sunday, the sky was cast with clouds but in a clear day Mount Fuji is visible and also the views to the sprawl are spectacular since there aren’t taller buildings in Shibuya area.